Peking Duck Inn

For 20 years i have enjoyed Peking Duck Inn — the best Chinese food in Hampton Roads and Simon and his family have made friends out of customers. I wish you all the very best and thank you for so many good meals and memories. Va Beach is a less wonderful place without you.

So sad to see my favorite restaurant close. Best wishes to Simon and his family, they’re some of the nicest people around. The Peking Duck Inn was a landmark in the Kempsville area for many years and their amazing food and service will be greatly missed.

–One of the best authentic Chinese Restuarant you can find in the area.
–The look outside may look like old Chinese Restuarant but trust me it fancy more than you think.
–quite environment make it easier to talk

Everything was awesome! We ordered fried salmon, eggplant with chicken, and the duck. Great service. Give them a try.

Tired appearance but the friendliness of the staff and amazing food more than make up for it. Started with the dumplings which were moist and very flavorful. We yhen had the wonton soup which was probably the best I ever had. wonderful fresh wontons. For the entrée I had the eggplant and my wife had the stir fry asparagus with chicken. Both were wonderfully prepared. the eggplant was amazing. very recommended.

Family owned and operated, this little gem has been my family’s go to place since 1995. I was basically raised here. The food is incredible and the owners are wonderful people who never forget a customer. I’ve recently relocated to MA, but will continue to stop in on trips back home.
Try the fried dumplings… they’re to die for.

Wow… not sure if the other reviewers are related to the owners, but this was the worst, most tasteless food I have ever eaten! And EXPENSIVE! Not sure if it was the owner, but the guy taking our order would not even look us in the eye while we were speaking to him… looked out the window while talking to him two different times. RUDE!

Our 1^st visit, we ate Pekin Duck. We love it, is juicy and taste great! The owner is from Hong Kong, and they are well known to be really good in good tasty food! We ate the roast duck on our 2^nd visit, we love it too! Is a cosy small place! We also love their chili oil paste. We wanted to go yesterday night but it was close. We definitely will go again.

Weekday lunch. 1 p.m. I walk through these doors for the first time. It looks unassuming. Nicely decorated but subtle. Not slick, shiny or modern-​more like grandma’s formal dining room. I only see two gentlemen dining, but I’m not sure who may be indulging beyond the multi-​panel privacy divider midway through the dining room.
I am immediately greeted by Simon (I get his name later). He is friendly and has good energy. He is very helpful to me on my first visit. I look at the lunch menu he hands me and ask about a dish not on the menu because I read great thing about it on Unilocal. He tells me these items are actually on special-​sweet & sour flounder and sweet & sour salmon. It is a whole fish, it comes with sides at a price tag of $ 22 – 25. I tell him this sounds like something I need to return for to enjoy as a dinner. It is a bit much for lunch. Simon agrees that it is a lot for one person to have for lunch. I appreciate him not trying to sell me on it now.
I sit. I wait. I’m offered a cup of water.
Table of two guys behind me have an audibly enthusiastic reaction to receiving their meal. OHMMMMMMMMMMMM! Yes, I turn around. They are three tables away from me and while I can’t see their plates, I’m jealous! The manager tells me they come back all the time and they never need to see a menu. The men tell me this is the BEST DUCK IN HAMPTON ROADS. I later hear Simon on the other side of the room divider talking to customers that have been «coming for many, many years» to this «family restaurant».
Simon’s helpfulness continues as I come to the register to pay for my order. He asks what sauces I want and informs me that he has included napkins, utensils, everything I need. He kindly urges me to return to try the many other offerings. He names several, chicken, pork and seafood dishes. He says that the restaurant looks small but the selection is almost endless. They can make just about anything beck there. In fact you can customize your meal and have it your way. Pick your protein (which determines the price) then add on the vegetables you like and even choose your own sauce.
Back at work I’m making my way through my sweet & sour shrimp. I haven’t had this in ages because I swore off of the bright red sauce. I appreciate that the sauce is packaged separately so my food doesn’t get soggy and there are no red-​sauce leakage disasters. The fact that the sauce is in three tiny containers is interesting, but perhaps brilliant. I start in on the shrimp rings ripping them in half and dipping them in the bright, thick syrupy sweet & sour sauce tub #1 for every single bite. Delicious. I’m beginning to feel satiated, and I dig out 4 more shrimp rings!!! WHAT? All this for $ 8.90…I should have counted how many jumbo shrimp were in here. I feel like there were 8 but I cant be sure since I never asked how many shrimp came with the order. I only needed two mini-​tubs of S&S sauce for my shrimp so I can save the last one for later or pour it over my veggies or mix it in with the rice. The creamed corn and chicken is enigmatic to me… I’ll eat it later.
See accompanying photos to see how much food you get.
I say this is a deal well worth the coin!

Had an amazing Sunday lunch with friends at «The Duck» yesterday
afternoon. Simon and Julie were surprised to see us since we moved away three years ago and treated us like visiting family. Dave soothed his Jones for House Special Lo Mein and I fed my craving for Salty Spicy Shrimp. As a special surprise Simon brought us a plate of Squid Salad. YUM! Combine this great food with the company of old friends and it’s easy to understand why with all the options of eateries in Hampton Roads, The Peking Duck is our number one place to have a great meal, definitely worth a three hour drive!

Ack. This is more 2.5 but it really pains me to rate them low. Why? The owners are super, super sweet! They talked to us more in one visit than the owner of Jade Villa to which we have been going to for over a decade. So, so, sooooo nice. Ridiculously nice.
I’ll start with the bad so I can at least end on a high note. Fried rice with salted fish & chicken.ehh. Chicken pan-​fried noodles, daughter didn’t like them. Less Asian veggies and more American. Definitely geared for the American palate. I haven’t tried the duck seeing how the Hubs is not a huge duck fan… so maybe there’s some redemption there. I’m guessing yes since they chose it as part of their name. The prices are a bit high there too (as are most of the more authentic ones down here are).
Eggplant…yum. That was the best dish. The wontons were Hong Kong-​style and almost rival Jade Villa’s…who have some of the best HK wontons south of the Mason-​Dixon Line. Very good… and I’ve had Hong Kong-​style wontons… in Hong Kong.
Go there to support small business and SUPER nice owners but go to Jade Villa for more authentic Cantonese fare. Still, the food is less Americanized than your neighborhood takeout joint but it does still cater to the American palate. They’re not opened terribly late, so don’t expect to check them out for late night Chinese food cravings. However, if you want a nice experience with owners that are truly very sweet people and food that’s good… give them a try.

Ah, Peking Duck. The little, oriental gift that keeps on giving. I have been eating at Peking Duck since I was in utero –I have a large, Jewish family so this should not come as much of a surprise. From the outside, the Duck looks a bit divey and small. It sits right next to Frankie’s Ribs in the Fairfield shopping center and has ample parking nearby.
There is something about this place that has totally ruined me for other Chinese places in HR. This is not your normal No.1/No.2 Americanized-​style Chinese fast food joint. No, this place has the kind of food that you sit down and savor.
There is a specials board in the restaurant that always has Flounder and Eggplant scribbled on it. The sweet and sour flounder is absolutely to die for. I usually get a bowl of wonton/​roast pork/​noodle/​veggie soup, which is crazy good, to start. The wontons here are incredible, I always ask for extra. They’re delicate, homemade, and incredibly flavorful.
After finishing the soup, it’s time to tackle the flounder. Listen, this is an entire flounder and is meant to be shared. I have tried and failed many times to take the whole fish to the face –the fish wins every time. Simon, the owner, will cut the fish up for you (seriously, don’t be overzealous, just let Simon cut it).
Also, they have a special Chinese New Year’s dinner where they shut down the restaurant to the general public. It has 20 or so authentic courses and wonderful live music.
When you’re craving true Chinese, make your way over to the Duck. Seriously.

Love Peking Duck! Been going there for years! Best hot and sour soup around! Other favorites are eggplant with garlic sauce, chow fun, and the Peking spare ribs. Everything is delish and fresh.

First, let me say I was visiting from Northern Va, where there are Peking Duck restaurants that serve this delectable dish every ten minutes. We ordered the duck, chicken soup and eggplant. The eggplant was good, slightly cripy on the outside and soft on the inside. The duck… well, let me just say duck needs to be served in Mandarin pancakes-​not flour tortillas.

Like Steven A, I don’t know where this place has been for, in my case, the last 30 years. Guess I need to get to Kempsville more often.
Peking Duck Inn sits in a double-​wide shop in Va Beach’s Fairfield Shopping Center, and, I’m told, has done so for over 30 years. It’s due solely to my Unilocal friends that I ever found this restaurant, and I’m kicking myself for not having been more aware over the last many years, and having discovered it myself. Like many Chinese places, it’s a family run operation — but this family clearly has much higher aspirations than just to be the best Chinese carryout in the neighborhood. Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by the husband and wife owners, and seated in their spacious (within the context of our other local Chinese experiences) dining room. Based on Unilocal reviews we had an idea on what dishes we wanted to try; but we found it so easy to engage our server/​wife owner about the restaurant and its food offerings, that we spent probably 5 minutes talking about the menu, their specialties, the origin of their cuisine (Hong Kong Chinese, which emphasizes fresh food flavors and textures, and not so much the heavy spices), their food suppliers, and just about life in general. A very warm and gracious conversation, and very informative about both their general orientation toward food, and about how they attempt to prepare their dishes in the kitchen.
In the end, we ordered and very much enjoyed a few of their specialties — Steamed Dumplings (ground pork, water chestnuts and scallions in a wonderfully soft and tasty steamed rice wrap, served with a spot of hoisin sauce) as an appetizer, followed by the Peking Duck (served as two dishes; the first being the duck meat and crispy skin, rolled in a warmed pancake with scallions and hoisin, and the second being the remnants of the duck meat, stir-​fried with vegetables and a light garlic sauce), and the Eggplant with Szechwan Garlic Sauce (cubed fresh eggplant, lightly coated and fried in a very hot wok, and served with a mild garlic sauce). Combined, these dishes were the absolute best Chinese-​themed offerings we’ve had in Tidewater, no matter what the province. At least at Peking Duck Inn, the «Hong Kong Style» places great emphasis on starting with basic fresh ingredients, mixing them together in such a way as not to lose their flavors and textures, and blending them with sauces that compliment, not overpower with spice or heat, the primary ingredients. The flavor and texture of the eggplant dish especially is impossible to describe with any clarity — to create its crispy «crust» on the outside, and maintain and enhance the already soft inside of the eggplant, the chef must have had a very hot wok, and a very deft hand. Aside from its wonderful flavor and texture, the best compliment I can think of to pay to this dish is that it must be consumed when fresh and hot — unlike most Chinese, the eggplant would definitely not improve with age, or work as a carryout order.
The Peking Duck Inn menu is huge, and pricing seems to me to be very reasonable (appetizer and double-​dish Peking Duck and Eggplant entrees, plus a big pot of BREWED Green Tea, for $ 35.40, before tip). And I think anyone visiting would be well advised to engage your server and have him/​her talk about their food and, based upon your own particular likes and dislikes, make some recommendations. I think we were able to sample several of the dishes of which they are most proud, and I look forward to our return, to working further into their menu, and to our continued efforts to learn a little more about the Chinese Hong Kong style. So far, so very, very good.

Their peking duck is Not… just roasted. dishes r small and over priced…

Walking in brought back memories of what I recall a Chinese restaurant used to be. FAMILY STYLE. I love the personal touch of the owner being on-​site thoroughly answering questions. The specials that day were lobster, flounder, and soft shell crab. We saw a couple order the flounder and it was the whole flounder baked/​fried all prettied up. HUGE! My friend and I ordered the duck for two. Soup was on-​point, owner wrapped first pancake, and allowed me to substitute House Fried Rice for Pan Fried Noodles (extra $$ of course). It has been years since I’ve had duck so, have nothing to compare but, flavor was pretty good! I would like to try w/​a steamed bun versus pancake/​crêpe/​tortilla shell. Everything was delicious. I’ll be going back. It is a little more pricey than your average Chinese Restaurant but, you get what you pay for.

Where has this place been hiding these past few years? In just two visits it has become our favorite new Chinese restaurant. When I say new I mean new to us since this restaurant has been around for 35 years or so.
First off, this is not your typical strip mall Chinese joint with gloopy sauces and heavily breaded, deep fried proteins. Everything is made fresh and in house. You can really taste the difference.
On our first visit, we did the Peking duck for two for $ 35. In my opinion, this meal is a steal at that price. You get a bowl of their wonton soup to start. The broth is clear and looks almost like water but it is jam packed with flavor. How do they do that? Plus the wontons are filled with perfectly seasoned pork. Next comes the first round of duck and it is absolutely delicious with the hoisin sauce, again, being made in house. You can tell instantly that it didn’t come out of a jar. The attentive owner, Simon, is even kind enough to wrap your first pancake for you. Nice touch.
To finish off, you get a huge plate of their house fried rice along with another version of their duck, this time cooked into a vegetable stir fry. Both dishes are superb and you will not be hungry by the time you finish
Simon also told us on our next visit he would be happy to pick our choices for us since the menu is extensive and it is hard to decide what to have. This is also one of my favorite things to do in a restaurant. Just let the staff pick your dishes for you. It adds an element of surprise not to mention they always give you what they feel are their best dishes.
When we came back a week later, Simon started us off with his steamed pork dumplings. They sound simple but the flavor is just sublime. The filling is really nothing more than seasoned pork and onions but they just pop when they hit your taste buds.
Next came what turns out to be their signature dish which is chicken with eggplant in garlic sauce. I was a bit apprehensive since neither of us are big fans of eggplant but again, we were surprised by how delicious the food was. I have never had eggplant like this before. It has a crisp texture without the inside being mushy or greasy. But I would only recommend eating this in the restaurant and not as take out. We had a couple of pieces of eggplant left as I was getting ready to pay the bill. I decided that one last bite wasn’t going to hurt and when I started to chew it I noticed that the texture had started to soften up. The dish probably doesn’t hold up too good on the drive home.
Overall, this was an excellent find. The strip mall is a bit dingy and the décor inside could use some sprucing up but you will not care once you start eating. The food makes you forget about anything else until it is gone or you are full. We plan on being regulars for sure.

Not bad, but not good, that’s my take away from a dinner of take out from the Peking Duck Inn.
I ordered chicken with fresh mushrooms and snow peas, grandfather chicken, chinese greens in oyster sauce, and hot and sour soup. In general, I was satisfied with the quality of ingredients. The chicken was a nice blend of well trimmed white and dark meat, and the vegetables were fresh and crisp. Unfortunately, the meal suffered from an encompassing blandness. «Spicy» on the menu, did not translate into actually being spicy, but that is something I’ve come to expect from restaurant menus. There wasn’t, however, any real flavor to make up for the lack of spice. So I was left with a meal that had high quality ingredients but a distinct lack of taste. Thus, I, and the people I dined with, all agreed, it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t good.

After a very long absence, I stepped into the doors of Peking Duck Inn. It’s been a while simply because I live too far away and the once home office and life as a shut-​in became something more liberating. It’s a whole lot easier to leave a home office for a 2 hour lunch, but no more.
The interior was just as I remembered it — nothing spectacular, but great none the less. The dining room is maybe a little dark for most establishments, but I was there for the food.
Started with the Creamed Corn and Chicken Soup. It was just as I remembered it — a steaming hot, creamed corn soup with chucks of white meat chicken with a egg drop finish. It’s a great soup and an upgrade from the ubiquitous faux yellow egg drop stuff served by most establishments. I had eaten many of the soups there and they are all pretty good.
Had the restaurant’s name sake, the Peking Duck. This dish is served in two parts. Part one comes with white and dark meat served on a platter with green onion brushes, hoisin sauce, and mandarin pancakes. Smear a pancake with the a little sauce, place the green onions, add duck meat. give it a roll… and serve. The skin of the duck was crispy, the meat was not as greasy as others, and the flavor was subtle. Subtle is good, but wanted more flavor and more temperature on the bird. It was still a delicious entrée.
Part B came to the table with the meat that was rescued during the carving, stir fried with bean spouts and other vegetables. Mostly vegetarian and genius.
I give Peking Duck Inn kudos for their eggplant and garlic sauce dishes. The eggplant is cubed, dusted with corn starch, I believe, and deep fried before begin added to the wok. I had the Pork with mine. It was of the BBQ variety and was good. I think a sautéed pork would be better, but the Chinese BBQ’ed version worked well.
Joining in the fray was the House Special Fried Rice. Accompanied by Beef, Pork, and Shrimp. It was good eating.
On to the Seafood Noodles, pan-​fried, of course. All of my favorites were there — Shrimp, Scallops, Squid, Fish Balls, and a variety of veggies. The mélange is ladled over a pancake of pan-​fried noodles. Noodle are crunchy until the sauce soaks in. Then, there are zones of crunch and others a bit softer. It was part of past rotation and I enjoyed it… again.
I think that covers it. I was with four others, so I didn’t finished all of this off by myself.
The best thing about Peking Duck Inn is it’s Cantonese Chinese cooking with dishes not like the usual HR Chinese restaurant. Don’t look for those store-​bought pictures that plaster every Chinese restaurant wall and menu. You will find many familiar dishes and some that are not so familiar. They also have Noodle Soups which are hard to find here. Peking Duck Inn has a lot to offer. For a Hampton Roads establishment where status-​quo Chinese is the norm, kudos to them for creating dishes out-​of-​the box.
I know some will say that they had better somewhere else, but for HR, this restaurant is a star. It’s not Restaurant X with a kitchen in every nondescript strip mall or past-​its– prime shopping center. Peking Duck Inn has been around for more than 20 years and is still going strong. Having longevity is a sign of good food, in my opinion.